We are parents and educators with a passion to improve reading and writing among students by providing books to read for free to students and assisting them with writing book reviews. Students can "earn to learn" too since they can earn gift cards for their book reviews.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Kristi Carmichael is a sophomore in high school, just trying to get by each day. Her best friend has abandoned her for the popular crowd, her mother is a work-a-holic, her father disappeared two years ago, and then there's the new guy... Mallory seems nice enough, but Kristi's feelings for Gusty Peterson, her ex-BFFs older brother, are getting stronger. On top of all this Kristi can read minds. When Kristi gets assigned to work with Gusty on a school project, everything about Kristi's life changes. She realizes her "powers" may not be what she suspected and she's faced with a lot of tough decisions.

Vibes was definitely not what I was expecting. Kristi was a great main character that kept me glued to the pages. Her witty, but deep, narration made her one of the most unique characters I've ever read about in a YA novel. She was someone I would have loved to know in real life. Not only was Kristi a fantastic character, but I enjoyed many of the minor characters as well. Gusty, Mallory, Jacob, her mother, Aunt Ann... they all had a great place in this heartwarming debut. The plot was original and realistic even though I couldn't connect with a lot of the things Kristi was going through. Readers will feel for Kristi and go on the wild ride of her life all the way until the end. Kristi matures a lot by the end of Vibes and really discovers who she is. The writing style was fantastic, and the descriptions sucked me right into the novel. I can't wait to read Ryan's next book!

About Us

LitPick.com and Flamingnet.com are worldwide networks of preteen and teen book reviewers. The websites offer book reviews written by young adults on young adult books.
Flamingnet was started in 2002 by Seth Cassel (Harvard '13) and his father, Gary Cassel. They continue to manage Flamingnet, along with the help of a dedicated staff and many adult volunteers located all over the world. In 2011, Seth Cassel and a team of fellow students at Harvard College developed LitPick.com. LitPick improves upon the Flamingnet concept and functionality, especially as a social network for young adult readers and as an opportunity for students to review the ever-expanding number of new eBooks that are becoming available to young adult readers.
www.litpick.com
www.flamingnet.com